Know Your Why

Questionby Eric Lopkin

Business people focus the majority of their energy on what they do and how they do it. The most important part gets lost. That part is why. Why you do what you do is the most important part because it decides the what and how. Why allows you to connect with people on a visceral level.

Why you do what you do is not to make money. If the only why you can focus on is to make a profit you might as well close up shop and take a job flipping burgers. You’ll make money doing that. Why is your mission, it is your vision, it is why you get up in the morning. It is what inspires you.

Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why” explains that great leaders start with why. He goes on to explain that their is a biological reason for people’s attraction to the why. Knowing your why allows you to connect with others that believe as you believe. That creates a connection between you and your audience. We are wired that way.

Take the time you figure out why you do what you do. What is the ultimate goal of what you do? Don’t just put together a mission statement. Understand the why deep inside you. As Sinek explains, “Martin Luther King gave the ‘I have a dream’ speech, not the I have a plan speech.” Do what you believe will make life better and the money will follow.